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Studies in Genesis by H. Boyce Taylor, Sr.
In the beginning God . . . Genesis 1: 1;
STUDIES IN GENESIS
by H. Boyce Taylor, Sr. Author of
"Why Be A Baptist"
"Bible Briefs Against Hurtful Heresies"
"Studies in Romans"
"Acts of the Apostles"
"Studies in the Parables"
"Women's Work in Baptist Churchs"
Edited by Roy 0. Beaman, pastor West End Baptist Church, Paducah, Ky. Editor, The Baptist Voice
EDITOR'S NOTE
These notes on Genesis comprise Old Testament I was taught by the lamented Author in a FOUR YEAR COURSE IN THE WHOLE BIBLE. As printed here, they are the result of a comparison of his original penned notes, a typed set used in his teaching and often modified by his pen, and scant oral comments preserved by his students. Two valuable additions to these notes are ardently desired by the Editor: full reports of his oral comments in class, for it is here that one felt the touch of a great teacher of the Word, and gleanings from the bound volumes of News and Truth, time for which arduous task has not been found by the Editor. The greatest reward will accrue to the student who reads every reference and develops the suggestive outlines herein printed. Questions similar to those used by the Author have been inserted to help clinch these studies. Every other addition by the Editor is earmarked by the initials "R.O.B." The Supplement, which is appended, is a tithe of the material offered by the Editor in his five years of teaching Genesis along with the notes of the Author. If the required time for preparation and the necessary money for publication conjoined with the welcome reception of the public toward this initial volume be forthcoming, seven other similar books will be offered the public for the elucidation of the Holy Scriptures.
THE LIFE OF H. BOYCE TAYLOR, Sr.
Born in Ohio County, Ky., September 29, 1870; died in the Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., May 31, 1932. Fourth in a line of Baptist preachers: Boyce Taylor, son; W. C. Taylor, Sr., his father, Alfred Taylor, his grandfather; Joseph Taylor, his great grandfather. Converted at an early age at Auburn, Ky. Ordained to the ministry by the Baptist Church, Russelvillle. Ky. Scholastic attainments: A.B. and M.A. from Bethel College, Russelville, Ky.; Th Master from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville. Ky.; D.D. from Hall Moody Institute, Martin, Tenn. Pastor in Carroll and Trimble Counties, Ky., during seminary days in Louisville. Pastor Murray Baptist Church almost thirty-five years, January 1897-October 1931, during which pastorate Dr. J. F. Love and Dr. B. H. Carroll said respectively that it was the greatest missionary, church and the nearest to New Testament pattern they had ever seen. No set salary from third year in Murray; a constant preacher and writer on tithing and stewardship; used the "box plan" in his church. Held many revivals in many states; received many flattering calls to leave Murray. A contender against evolution, Arminianism, Masonry, and many heresies; held over fifty public discussions with representative men of numerous denominations. Jailed during World War I because he kept his church house open for worship, preferring to obey God rather than man. Married September 29, 1897, to Maime Peay, daughter of Dr. J. M. Peay, a well known Baptist preacher. Father of two children: Boyce, Jr., and Frances (Mrs. Barney Watson). Had over a hundred namesakes, to whom he sent autographed copies of his book, "Why Be A Baptist." Leader in great mission endeavors in Blood River Asso., which comprises the churches of his adopted county, Calloway, and Marshall; preacher of annual sermon more times than any other man; also, clerk for many years. Leader of Murray Bible Institute for thirty four years, which became the pattern for many Bible institutes of this section and elsewhere. Moving spirit of budget system first adopted by Kentucky Baptist, then by other Baptist state conventions. then by Southern Baptist Convention, yet a strong contender for the rights of individuals, churches, and associations to designate their funds. Moderator of General Association of Ky. Baptists; member of Baptist State Mission Board; trustee of several Baptist colleges; Ky. member of Sunday School Board; originator and manager of West Ky. Baptist Assembly. Editor and Owner of News and Truths, 1906-1932, a sixteen page weekly, which always supported the work of Southern Baptist but exposed irregularities and worldliness without fear or favor. Moving spirit in the Amazon Valley Baptist Faith Mission, with headquarters in Murray; before the birth of the Mission he made a trip to Brazil in 1922. Head of the News and Truths Book Store, which majored on sound Baptist books and Bibles; literally thousands of books and Bibles were distributed by mail, from the counter in the store, and by his efforts as a colporter and through many other colporters. No man more ardently supported colportage work than he; he contended that it is one of the greatest needs in world evangelization. Head of the West Kentucky Bible School, which touched hundreds of preachers, from its inception November 7, 1921 until his death. He authored "Why Be A Baptist", "Bible Brief's Against Hurtful Heresies," "Studies in Romans," "Acts of the Apostles," "Studies in the Parables," and many tracts on salvation, Christian living, and sound doctrine, which he printed and distributed by the multiplied thousands. He was a great theologian and planned a volume therein: this is perhaps our greatest loss in his untimely going. The Sunday School Board requested a volume of his sermons, but he was to busy to stop, to prepare them. When he began his pastorate, the resident membership numbered seventy two and forty non resident; at the end, there were over five hundred. The church gave to missions the year before he came the sum of $21.00. During his pastorate they gave over $180,000. climaxing it with $37,268 in cash one year of the Seventy Five Million Campaign. The Pastor always led the way; he gave $7,000 to the present, beautiful and commodious structure. (Since I think he would want the mantle of love thrown over the unscrupulous tactics of those that opposed him, I pass over them here. He suffered patiently and prayed for his enemies). A man of God; a man of faith and prayer; the sinner's friend; a devout lover of missions and a strong contender for "the faith once for all delivered to the saints:" student of Broadus, admirer of Graves and Pendleton, friend of Eaton and Carroll, coworker of J. N. Hall and other stalwarts of the faith. His body sleeps in a beautiful plot in the cemetery of the place he loved so well; but "he being dead yet speaketh", in these notes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Introductory Studies in Genesis ............................1
II. Studies in the First Three Chapters of Genesis.... ..15
III. Studies in Genesis 4-11......................................... 73
IV. Studies in Genesis 12-14 .......................................95
V. Studies in Genesis 15-18 .......................................107
VI. Studies in Genesis 19-22 .......................................123
VII. Studies in Genesis 23-27 .......................................138
VIII. Studies in Genesis 28-32 .....................................154
IX. Studies in Genesis 33-40........................................174
X. Studies in Genesis 41-50........................................189
XI. Types and Prophecies in Genesis............................218
A Supplement (R.O.B.) . .....................................................239
CHAPTER ONE
Introductory Studies In Genesis
PROOF OF THE MOSAIC AUTHORSHIP OF GENESIS AND THE PENTATEUCH
I. PRELIMINARY PROOF:
1. Who said and says that Moses did not write Genesis and the Pentateuch? Infidels and Catholic priests. Carlstadt, a critic, 1521. Andreas Mosius, a Belgian, in his commentary on Joshua, 1574. Peyrere, a Catholic priest, in his Systematic Theology, in 1660. Spinoza, a Dutch philosopher, in 1670. Hobbes, an English philospher. Richard Simon of Dieppe, France, a Catholic priest, 1685. Astruc, a profligate free-thinker, a French doctor, 1753. Voltaire, 1762, popularized it. For study, see "The Fundamentals" on "The History of the Higher Criticism," by Canon Dyson Hague, Vol. I. p. 93. "Breakers! Methodism Adrift", L. W. Munhall, pp. 25-32. 2. Who fights it today and why? Because, they do not love the truth. Munhall, ibid, P. 61f. "The Fundamentals", Vol. VIII. p. 74f. 3. Jewish and profane history proves Mosaic authorship. Angus-Green, "The Bible Hand-Book", pp. 389f. Tacitus, Juvenal, Strabo, Longimus, Porphyry, Emperor Julian, Mohammed, Josephus, and many other Jewish and profane writers. 4. Numerous quotations by Old Testament prophets. See Angus-Green, p. 390. "Hosea and Amos show there were five books recognized in the Northern Kingdom." 5. Archaisms, Angus-Green, p. 391. 6. Internal evidence, Angus-Green, p. 391. 7. The monuments bear record of it. "Back to the Bible", by A. C. Dixon, pp. 95-96, 105.
II. BIBLE PROOF:
Old Testament proof: Moses himself said that he wrote the Pentateuch. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven" (Exo. 17:14); "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" (Exo. 24:3-7); "And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out" (Num. 33:2); "And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law... And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished" (Deut. 31:9-12, 24). A man is to be believed until he is impeached, and Moses has never been impeached by any. Joshua so testifies. "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Josh. 1:7-8); "As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law" (Josh. 8:31-34); "Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left" (Josh. 23:6). The historical books so testify. "And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself" (I Ki. 2:3); "But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (II Ki. 14:6); "Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed" (I Chron. 22:12-13). "But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin" (II Chron. 25:4); "Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses" (II Chron. 33:8); "And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses" (Ezra 6:18); "We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations" (Neh. 1:7-8); "And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel" (Neh. 8: l). New Testament proof: Jesus Himself said so. " And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?" (Mark 12:26); "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself... And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:27,44); "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:45-47); "Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?" (John 7:19-23). The truth of Christ's words stand or fall with the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. "Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?" (John 7:19-23). Note these points. "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:45-47) A. Jesus says that Moses wrote His words. B. He puts them on equality with His own words, because they are just as authoritative. C. The words of Moses will accuse until and at the judgment. The apostles so testify. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17); "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45); "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day" (Acts 15:21); "And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening" (Acts 28:23); "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them...But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you" (Rom. 10:5,19); "But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart" (II Cor. 3:15); "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?" (I Cor. 9:9); "For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people" (Heb. 9:19); "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses" (Heb. 10:28). Conclusion: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17-18).
THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES
General Comments on Inspiration: "Either Moses knew as much about science as we or else he was inspired", Ampere. "Look into the Holy Scriptures, which are the true words of the Holy Spirit", Clement. "The prophets delivered oracles to the people; the apostles wrote letters to the brethren", author unknown. "As a result of the careful examination of the entire Scriptures in the originals, noticing and marking where necessary every variation of tense, preposition and the significance of words, the impression left upon my mind is this, not the difficulty of believing the entire inspiration of the Bible, but the impossibility of doubting it... The godliness of the translators, and the superiority of their scholarship, and the manifest assistance and control afforded these by the Holy Spirit in their work is such that the ordinary reader can rely upon the whole being the word of God," Thomas Newberry. James II. Brooks is authority for the statement that the words 'Thus saith the Lord', occur two thousand times in the Bible. Ninety three times in the five books of Moses, so under fire today, we do read, "The Lord spake unto Moses saying" (Exod. 6:10). David claimed: "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me and his word was in my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2). Isaiah contended that he wrote "For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying" (Isa. 8:11). Jeremiah begins one of his prophecies, "The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the Prophet" (Jer. 50:1). Amos' plea was, "Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, 0 children of Israel" (Amos 3:1). Micah closes a prophecy with the words, "The mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it" (Micah 4:4). Peter "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus" (Acts 1:16), "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). Here we are clearly told that it was the Spirit of God speaking through the mouth of David. Even, more strongly is verbal inspiration insisted on when Peter and John were released from prison, the early disciples lifted up their voices with one accord to God . . . who by the mouth of thy servant David hath said, "Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?" (Psa. 2:1). God indited; David uttered", Young.
I. DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION.
Inspiration is man's writing the very words as chosen by the Holy Spirit to make sure he writes the very words God wants said. "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2); "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1:9). The word for "inspiration" "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16) means literally "God-breathed". The word of God has the very breath or life of God in it. The words themselves, not the men, are inspired. "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2); "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1:9); "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16). We can speak of the inspired Scriptures but not of the inspired men. They were not always under the influence of the Spirit of inspiration. Note these results of inspiration: Because it is an inspired Book, it is inerrant; that is, it is without error. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17-18); "and The scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35); "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:20-21). Because the very words of Scripture are inspired, it is an infallible book. "If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35); "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt 5:17-18). Because the Book is inspired it is the living word.. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12); "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (I Peter 1:23); "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us" (Acts 7:38). Plant it and it will grow. The breath of God put life into the word. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). I recommend here a very fine book, "Life In The Word," Philip Mauro. There is the same difference between the Bible and all other books that there is between Christ and all other men. Christ had life in Himself, could impart life, and His life could not be taken; the Bible has life in itself. "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Christ was the only perfect Man; the Bible is the only perfect Book. Christ and the Bible stand or fall together.
II. THE PROOF OF INSPIRATION:
"But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:47); "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us" (Acts 7:38); "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?" (Deut. 31:24-27); "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44); "Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation" (Acts 15:31); "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Pet. 1:21); "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2); "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1:9). Other proof, outside of the Bible, may be given: The history of the Jews is great proof. A king asked his chaplain for one word to prove the inspiration of the Bible. "The Jew," replied the chaplain. Fulfilled Prophecy. "The Wonders of Prophecy," John Urquhart. Be sure to read this fine book. Effects on the life of those who read it, both saved and lost. It reveals our own thoughts to us. Other books tell us the writer's thoughts: this Book tells us our thoughts.
Supplementary notes: R. 0. B. Verbal inspiration means that the words are inspired. Inerrant inspiration means that no errors are in the word. As Baptists confessions always affirm, the Bible has God for its author and truth without any admixture of error for its matter. Infallible Scripture means that it cannot fail. Plenary inspiration means full inspiration; each part is inspired in the same degree. This opposes the Modernist view of partial or spotted inspiration. Here we need to observe these important distinctions. Three words sum up the whole of the story of the Bible: 1. Revelation means something divinely made known. It could not and would not have been otherwise known unless God revealed it. It is above human knowledge. This is the source or origin of the message. 2. Inspiration means the divine method of transmitting this revelation to writing. In such preservation of the matter revealed there is no error intermixed. This is the method of preserving the message revealed. 3. Illumination deals with the opening of the Scripture and the opening of the mind and heart to receive the message. This extends through the incipient stages of Holy Spirit conviction through the full development of the Christian in knowledge. This is the power of the message as it is made effective in the life.
THE ELEVEN NATURAL DIVISIONS OF GENESIS
1. Creation, 1:1-2:3. 2. Generations of the heavens and the earth, 2:4-4:26. 3. Generations of Adam, 5:1-6:8. 4. Generations of Noah, 6:9-9:29. 5. Generations of the sons of Noah, 10:1-11:9. 6. Generations of Shem, 11:10-26. 7. Generations of Terah, 11:27-25:11. 8. Generations of Ishmael, 25:12-18. 9. Generations of Issac, 25:19-35:29. 10. Generations of Esau, 36-1-37:1. 11. Generations of Jacob, 37:2 - 50:26.
Thus Genesis naturally divides itself into these eleven chapters. This is God's Outline of the book of Genesis. The line ever moves along the line of the promised seed, the line of the Messiah, except in the case of Ishmael and Esau. Ishmael was closely associated with Isaac, and Edom with Israel.
SOME BEGINNINGS IN GENESIS
The book of Genesis was named from its opening noun; the Greek of the word "beginning" is "genesis." The keyword of the book is beginning. The Bible is the only history of the beginning of things. Herodotus, the father of history, wrote not earlier than the fifth century before Christ; Moses wrote one thousand years earlier the story of the beginning of things.
1. The beginning of matter, 1:1, 21, 27. 2. The beginning of animal life, 1:20-21. 3. The beginning of man, 1:27. 4. The beginning of time, 1:1. 5. The beginning of sin in our world, ch. 3. 6. The beginning of salvation, 3:15. 7. The beginning of destructive criticism, 3:4. 8. The beginning of true worship, ch. 4. 9. The beginning of the chosen race, ch. 12. 10. The beginning of the Messianic hope, 49:8-12. 11. The beginning of faith, Chap. 4. 12. The beginning of prophecy, 3:15. 13. The beginning of marriage. 14. The beginning of sorrow, 3:16. 15. The beginning of atonement and sacrifice. 16. The beginning of government, Chap. 9. 17. The beginning of the sabbath, 2:2-3. 18. The beginning of work, 3:19. 19. The beginning of clothing, 3:21. 20. The beginning of tithing, 14:20. 21. The beginning of civilization and nations, Chap. 4. 22. The beginning of music, 4:21. 23. The beginning of birth, 4:1. 24. The beginning of war. 25. The beginning of murder, 4:8.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
1. Who wrote Genesis and the Pentateuch? 2. When was Genesis written? 3. Who denies Moses wrote Genesis? 4. Give five proofs outside the Bible, that Moses wrote Genesis. 5. Summarize the lines of proof for Mosaic authorship. 6. Discuss the relation of Moses and Christ. 7. What Is Inspiration? 8. Give three results of inspiration. 9. Define verbal Inspiration. 10. Define infallible inspiration. 11. Define inerrant inspiration. 12. Define plenary inspiration. 13. Distinguish between revelation, inspiration, and illumination. 14. What is meant by calling the Bible the final revelation of God? 15. Name the eleven natural divisions of Genesis. 16. Whose outline is this called? Why? 17. What line is followed in this outline? 18 Define Genesis. 19. Make a list of other beginnings in Genesis.
CHAPTER TWO
Studies in the First Three Chapters of Genesis
It has been well said that, if one gets right on the teachings in the first three Chapters of the Bible, he is pretty sure to be right on the rest of the Bible. Because we believe this, we devote quite a bit of time to the study of these initial chapters. My brethren, there is much material here for the very preaching that we need today. Linger here in your study.
RUNNING COMMENTS ON GENESIS 1-2
Who was the Creator? What proof is there of the trinity in creation? What was the work of each person of the Godhead? Answer. "Let us make man" speaks of the trinity in the Godhead. God spake, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created" (Psa. 148:5). "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). That is what we call "fiat" creation; God spake, and it was done. Christ made, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist" (Col. 1:16-17). The Holy Spirit brooded, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth" (Psa. 104:30); "By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent" (Job 26:13). The Hebrew word means "brooded," not "moved." How many creative acts were there and what was created in each act? Answer Three: Matter, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens" (Gen. 2:3-4); "The north and the south thou hast created them" (Psa. 89:12), "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created" (Psa. 148:5); "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth... Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding" (Isa. 40:26,28); "That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it" (Isa. 41:20); "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else" (Isa. 45:18); "Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein" (Isa. 42:5); "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things" Isa. 45:7); "For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name" (Am. 4:13). Animal life, "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good... And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so" (Gen. 1:21,24). There was no evolution; only the creative fiat put life into matter. Man, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:27); "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created" (Gen. 5:1-2); "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them" (Gen. 6:7); "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?" (Deut. 4:32); "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded" (Isa. 45:12). There was no evolution of animal to man. The gulf is wide between animals and man; creation is the only bridge. Created and made. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:3). He created matter; out of it He made His works. To create is to make something out of nothing; to make is to make something out of something. The order of creation. First day. He created matter. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). He made light and time. Light was the first need, and was necessary for day and night. " And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen. 1:3-5). Second day. He made an expanse between the waters: that is, space. The word translated "firmament" means "expanse," space, atmosphere. "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day" (Gen. 1:6-8). Third day. He made dry land and the seas. He made seed to germinate after its kind. That is plant life. "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day" (Gen. 1:9-13). Fourth day. He made the sun and moon to appear. "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day" (Gen. 1:14-19). Fifth day. He created animal life after its kind. Two kinds were created this day; the air and water animals. "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day" (Gen. 1:20-23). Sixth day. He made the land animals. He created man, male and female. "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:15-20). Man was made out of dust, not out of rocks indicative of his frailty. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7); "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust" (Psa. 103:14). The three heavens of the Jews: Where the fowls fly, "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Gen 1:20). Where the sun, moon, and stars are, "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen. 1:14). "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Pet. 3:12-13). Where God personally dwells. This explains why the word for heaven in 1:1 is plural, "heavens". (R.V.). "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" (I Kings 8:27). "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (II Chron. 6:18). God put man to work; he was to be no idler. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28); "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ...And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:5,15). "Replenish" means in the Hebrew "fill." Man was to be a herbarian. Before the fall he ate only herbs. "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so" (Gen. 1:30). Eating meat, or the desire for flesh, is the result of sin. In heaven man eats of the tree of life. "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev. 22:2). Man's life was God-breathed. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). So is the Bible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16). The expression "inspired of God" means literally, God-breathed. The Jews reckoned time as God, evening and morning, because there was darkness before light. "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen. 1:5). Creation was never finished until the end of the six days. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens" (Gen. 2:1-4). Therefore, there was no cataclysm between 1:1 and 1:2. Rain does not come of itself, though we say impersonally, "It rains." God at first caused and controlled rain. "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground" (Gen. 2:5). He does today. Woman is a counterpart or helpmeet. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him....but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Gen. 2:18,20-23). She is his equal; made from his rib, not his head or feet. There was no help meet in animals; therefore evolution is a lie. Not foot to be under nor head to be over. Man's wisdom. "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field" (Gen. 2:19-20). He named the cattle, fowls, and beasts. Names given by God Himself: (1). Light-day. "And God called the light Day" (Gen. 1:5). (2). Darkness-night. "And the darkness he called Night" (Gen. 1:5). (3). Expanse-heavens. "And God called the firmament Heaven " (Gen. 1:8). (4). Dry land-earth. "And God called the dry land Earth" (Gen. 1:10). (5). Waters-seas. "And the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good" (Gen. 1:10). Sleep for surgical operation. "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof" (Gen. 2:21). God was thousands of years ahead of doctors. They were not ashamed though they were naked, which shows that they had no sin. "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Gen. 2:25). They clothed themselves as soon as they sinned. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Gen. 3:7). God's law on marriage. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). "But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace" (I Cor. 7:11-15). The seed were put in the earth in creation. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so" (Gen. 1:11). The first sabbath. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them... And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:1,3). Soul of man is called living, but the soul of animals is only in creation. Man's soul goes upward, but the soul of animals goes downward. "Breath of life," literally, "lives". That means physical life, soul life, spiritual life. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). God made the garden beautiful. "And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:8,9). God made gold. "The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold" (Gen. 2:11). "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1), refers to the beginning of time and creation. Chapter 1 should end with "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:3).
SPECIAL STUDIES IN GENESIS 1-2
I. WAS THERE A CATACLYSM BETWEEN THE FIRST TWO VERSES OF GENESIS? THERE WAS NOT. Proof: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12), teaches very clearly that there was no death upon the earth until after Adam's transgression. If there was no death until Adam sinned and death came as a result of sin, then no beasts died before that time. If there had been millions of years, as Mr. Scofield and others say, between the first two verses of` Genesis and the beasts had multiplied as rapidly as they do now and none of them had died; they would have crowded the earth so full of animals that there would have been no room for vegetation to grow upon which they might feed. For instance: Suppose that even rabbits or flies either one should live for just one century unmolested. If there was a cataclysm between the first two verses of Genesis, then you have two separate creations: one recorded "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1), and another millions of years later in the rest of the chapter. The whole theory is based on supposition, just like the one they intend to oppose. They try to get around evolution and yet they have as many suppositions as evolution has. Darwin, in his book, uses the expression, "We may well suppose," over eight hundred times. These men who deny evolution base their whole contention on suppositions and yet contend for a million years between Gen. 1:1 and "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). They suppose a cataclysm. They suppose there was a prehistoric man. They suppose there was death in the world before Adam sinned when the Bible plainly says that sin came by Adam and death by sin. They suppose that there were geologic ages millions of years long between the first two verses of Genesis. As an explanation it does not explain. It was meant to give scope for the geologic ages. How could there be fossils of animals that lived and died and their skeletons buried by an earthquake, so that we find them today, four days before any animals were created? Why are there no fossils of angels or prehistoric men? It is worthless as an explanation because it raises more difficulties than it explains. If everything was created, destroyed by a cataclysm, and then recreated, we then have God doing His work over, which is contrary to all Bible teaching. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). We had as well talk of two new creations as two first creations. This theory is contrary to all Bible History of God's dealing with men in various ages. He always leaves a remnant. Instance the flood and the captivity. There was no prehistoric man. Adam was the first man. "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (I Cor. 15:45). "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28). The Hebrew word for "replenish where Arthur W. Pink makes his argument, does not mean "refill". The Hebrew is "male". It is translated 246 times in the Old Testament "to fill," "fulfill," or "to be full." Creation was never finished until "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made" (Gen. 2:2). No idea of repetition inheres in the original Hebrew word. "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens" (Gen. 2:4).
II. THE DAYS OF GENESIS ONE.
Were they twenty four hour days or long periods of time? The Bible is its own best interpreter. God usually tells what He means the first time He uses a word in His book. In Genesis 1, where the word "day" is first used, God made it very clear that He was talking about a twenty four hour day for the following reasons: 1. The only day which has an evening and a morning is a twenty four hour day. The reason evening is mentioned before morning is because darkness came before light. That is why the Jewish day begins at six p.m. The Seventh Day Adventists close their day at six p.m. We may see them down town on Saturday afternoon after six o'clock buying their goods because their day closes then. We need to remember this in connection with Christ's resurrection also. 2. The seventh day of this first week of days was a twenty four hour day. "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:10,11); "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death" (Ex. 31:15). Therefore, since the seventh day was a twenty four hour day, the other six days of that same week must have been twenty four hour days. 3. "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day... And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:... And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good" (Gen. 1:5,14,18). The period lighted by the sun is what is here called day. The period is the daylight period of a twenty-four hour day. 4. In all the Bible, the word days is never used to designate an indefinite period of time when connected with a numeral. "And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated" (Gen. 8:3); "And they returned from searching of the land after forty days" (Num. 13:25); "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17); "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:11); "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). In Genesis 1 we have the numerals first, second, and third. Unless Genesis 1 contradicts the rest of the Bible, the days here are twenty four hour days. 5. The objection is raised: There could have been no twenty four hour days without the sun, and the sun did not shine until the fourth day. Answer: The twenty four hour day is made by the revolution of the earth upon its axis, and that could have been without the sun's shining as well as with it. The sun does not make the day; it lights it. The light was created the first day. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen. 1:3-5). 6. These days could not have been periods of time because there was no death until man's sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). Geologists say that the fossils we find in the rocks are the remains of animals which died before Adam's sin. Since nothing died before Adam's sin, we have fossils of animals that never died! Fossils, according to George McCready Price, are explained fully by the flood. 7. The days of Genesis 1 were twenty four hour days "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen. 1:14). They were the same kind of days that belong to seasons and years. 8. These days were twenty four hour days. "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died" (Gen. 5:5). 9. The days of Genesis were not long periods of time because God commanded the animals to multiply and fill the earth.
FOURTEEN REASONS WHY EVOLUTION ISN'T TRUE
There are fourteen distinct statements in Gen. 1:1-3:24 that give the lie to evolution. 1. The Bible says "God created the heavens and the earth." That proves that matter is not eternal, that it was not begun by blind force, that it did not start itself, that it came into existence by the creative fiat of God. That prevents a belief in evolution. 2. The Bible says God created animal life. That proves that animals did not evolve up from vegetable life by inherent or resident forces. It proves that it took God's creative fiat to bring them into existence. That prevents a belief in evolution. 3. The Bible says God created man. That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that men came from the lower animals. 4. The Bible says that God made man's body out of the dust. That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that man's body ever was different to what it is now and that it was not evolved up through millions of years of time from an anthropoid ape to its present form. 5. The Bible says ten times that God's law for vegetable life, for animal life, for all created things is "after its kind." That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that one species developed into another and higher species. The mule is a living witness that evolution is a lie. He is a cross between the ass species and the horse species and he cannot propagate his kind. He has no kind. He is a cross between two kinds and is not a distinct species and is an indisputable witness to the truth. "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.... And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good" (Gen. 1:11,12,20,21,22,24,25). 6. The Bible says the days of Creation were days that included day and night; that they were ruled by the sun and by the period of light; that the sun divided between the day and the night; that these days' were regulated by the sun and moon just as the seasons and years are. All that prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that he was not made at all, but evolved up from the lower animals in the image of an anthropoid ape. 7. The Bible says that Eve was the mother of all living. "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20). That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that man evolved from the lower animals unless God worked a greater miracle than creation. For God to have so controlled the process of evolution that Eve would be the only woman that would evolve from an anthropoid ape would be a great miracle and require more credulity, than to believe in creation. If evolution is true then many female anthropoid apes evolved into women and Eve was not the mother of all living. But the Bible plainly says that Eve was the mother of all living; therefore evolution is an impossible lie. 8. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). That prevents a belief in the evolutionist lie that man is any kin to the anthropoid ape or the lower animals. 9. "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:19-20). That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that the first man was just a little above the ape in intelligence; but substantiates the idea taught elsewhere in the Bible that Adam, was the most intelligent man that ever lived on this earth except the Son of man. His knowledge was finite, not infinite; but like God he knew by intuition. He did not have to study to know. That is one of the curses that came as a result of sin. 10. The Bible says that all the beasts and fowls were brought to Adam to see if any of them would do for a help meet for him. That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that man himself is an evolution from the beasts. He could have found a help meet among his ancestors, if evolution was true. That also shows the degeneracy of womankind today, who prefers association with poodle dogs to little children. 11. "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man" (Gen 2:21-22). That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that man evolved from the lower animals; for if man had evolved from the ape state, woman with her quicker intuition would have evolved too. 12. The Bible says there was a personal devil that deceived Eve and led her into sin. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3:1). That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that the devil is only an influence and not personal but impersonal. 13. The Bible says Adam and Eve fell. That prevents belief in the evolutionist lie that the tendency of everything in this world is upward. Plants left to themselves degenerate. Fine blooded stock left to itself degenerates. The fall is written on everything. The fundamental principle of evolution that the tendency of all things is to develop upward is a hell born lie. The devil is the author of it in an attempt to hide the fall of man and the curse of it that came therefrom. 14. Thorns and thistles and sweat and toil and pain in travail and the enmity and fear of the snake are God's ever-present witness, to the truth of the first three chapters of Genesis. And with thinking people will prevent belief in the evolutionist lie of development from inherent or resident forces being the law of life. Everything of itself in this world goes backward and downward if left to itself. It is only by intelligent forces outside of itself, either human or divine, that there is ever any development in plants or animals or man. Evolution is a lie from start to finish.
MAN AS GOD MADE HIM
In God's image. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:26-27); "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7); "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created" (Gen. 5:1-2); "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them" (Gen. 6:7); "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man" (Gen. 9:6); "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?" (Deut. 4:32); "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psa. 8:3-6); "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him" (Isa. 43:7); "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded" (Isa. 45:12). This refers to the soul, not to the body. Man's body is not in the image of God, for God has no body. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). 1. He was made upright. "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Eccl. 7:29). 2. He was made a living soul. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:26-27); "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). 3. He was made like God in knowledge. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28); "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:19-20). "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (Col. 1:15); "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10). Adam was not omniscient like God, but what he knew he knew by intuition, as God knows all things. God does not have to study to know, neither did Adam. Hard study in order to obtain knowledge came as a result of sin. Adam knew more than any man upon earth so far as his natural knowledge was concerned. 4. Wisdom. This is seen in his naming the beasts. 5. Righteousness and holiness. "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:23-24). 6. Man is a trinity. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thes. 5:23-24). Man was made in the image of God in that he was given a body, soul and spirit. God is of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Eph. 4:23). 7. God gave him dominion over all creation. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28); "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psa. 8:3-6).
GENERAL SUBJECTS IN GENESIS THREE
I. SATAN
He was a person. This is seen from the fact, that he talked. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:1,4). The essential marks of personality are intellect, sensibility, and will. Personality has no reference to form. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD" (Job 1:6-12); "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (I Pet. 5:8); "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Rev. 12:9); "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3); "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (II Cor. 2:11); "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ...And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:3,14). He was one of the highest of God's creatures before the fall. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (Isa. 14:12-15); "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more" (Ezek. 28:12-19). Since Tyrus was not in Eden, this could not refer to a merely human being. The devil was just using Tyrus. He fell by reason of his own pride. "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (Isa. 14:13); "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created" (Ezek. 28:13). He aspired to be equal with God. Pride causes most downfalls, as Adam, Babylon, Nineveh, Nebuchadnezzar, and Herod. In his work he uses or indwells some being. The devil is a spirit. That is why he uses some being to accomplish his purposes. He has to use something that men can see; men cannot see a spirit. He does not necessarily use a human being. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3:1). Here he used a snake. "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty" (Ezek. 28:12). He used a king. "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea" (Mark 5:1-13). He used swine. He has used a dog many times by his barking or walking around in the meeting house. He uses a Christian if the Christian will let him, "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matt. 16:22-23). If he does not use a man he uses an animal. He is subtle. That means, slick, sly, cunning, shrewd, deceiving. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made?" (Gen. 3:1). "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty" (Ezek. 28:12). He works under cover. He uses the beautiful and enthusiastic. "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty....Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezek. 28:12,15); "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:14). He was once beautiful, but his wisdom and beauty were corrupted. Most of the devil's places of amusement have music. You never heard of the devil's using something ugly. That is why he chose the serpent. That is why he uses education and music. The devil is not one with horns and a tail, and we should not so teach our children. He seeks to hide his sly work. Music, jewelry, beauty culture, business, politics, dress, merchandise are his forts or specialties. This is what ruined Germany and many of our schools. His chief concern, however, is religion. He controls other things if he can. See the parable of the tares. "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9); "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee" (Rev. 3:9); "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (II Cor. 11:13-15). He preaches another: a. Jesus; that is, they say that He is a good teacher but deny His deity; To them He is a social, sentimental, good fellow, the flower of evolution, just an extra good person, but not the substitute for the guilty sinner. b. Spirit, as the Campbellites who say He is a mere influence, or as the Hardshells that He works without the gospel, or the feminist who says that he leads the women to speak publicly before men. c. Gospel, as the gospel of works. Satan has his churches. He uses saved men as well as his own in carrying out his will and purpose. "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matt. 16:22-23). Cf. The denominational machines in our work today. He is the head of a compact, unionistic, political, religious organization of spirit forces, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:11-12). "Principalities" means compact organizations. The Christian is not to fight with fire: his two weapons are : A. The word of God-the defensive weapon. B. Prayer-the offensive weapon. He is the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air. He tries to run this world and succeeds where God does not interfere. "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Cor. 4:4); "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2); "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19). The world lies in the devil's arms as the child lies in its mother's arms. "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). We are not primarily to make the world better; we are to die to the world and the world to us. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (I John 2:15-17). "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4). Elisha reveals to his servant the host of angels around him. "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psa. 34:7); "Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia" (Dan. 10:12-13). Daniel prayed, but the devil delayed the angel who bore the message. The Christian has three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Conclusion:
There is no good in the world, nor the flesh, nor the devil, "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19). There is no good in the natural man, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Rom. 7:18). "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7-8). People talk of the moving picture show as though it were good; you had just as well talk of a good devil.
II. THE SNAKE:
What he was when he was made: (1). The highest of God's animal creation, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3:1). This shows that the snake, not the ape or gorilla, is the nearest to man or the highest of God's animal creation. (2). He was beautiful and graceful. The most beautiful of all God's animal creation. (3). Subtil. He was guileful and fascinating. "And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (Gen. 3:13). (4). He walked upright, "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Gen. 3:14). Otherwise the curse is meaningless. He did not always go on his belly; he was cursed because he let the devil use him. What He still is: (1). Wise, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16). (2). Beautiful graceful, fascinating. He has great charming power. He charms birds and men. Illus. Fred Taylor, my brother, in his baby days, was found in the front room of the house charmed by a great snake of some kind. That is the way he catches his prey, even in his fallen state. (3). Subtle. (4). He crawls. 3. Results of his curse: (1). Enmity. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15). Women especially dread snakes. This dread will leave when Christ comes again. (2). The curse on the woman stays as long as the curse on the snake. III. DEATH
Definition: A good way to study a word is to note its first use. Death is defined so clearly the first time it is used that no one need be mistaken about its meaning. Death is defined in its first use as separation. God told Adam plainly that they would die the first time they ate of the forbidden fruit, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). They died then spiritually, that very day. "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" (Gen. 3:8). They hid themselves from God. "Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen. 3:23). God sent him forth. "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:24). God drove him out of the garden. Death, therefore, means separation from God. That is what death always means; it never means cessation of being. This death was not annihilation as Adventists and Russellites say; death never means annihilation. There are three kinds of death: (1). Physical death means the separation of the soul from the body. (2). Spiritual death means the separation of the soul from God. (3). Eternal death means the eternal separation of the soul from God. God's word was fulfilled. God said that they would die in the day they ate of the forbidden fruit. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen.2:17). They did not die physically that day, but they did die spiritually. They died spiritually then and physically later; spiritual death caused physical death. We are born again before our bodies are redeemed from sin. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). There was no death until Adam sinned, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Rom. 5:12). If Adam had never sinned, there would have been no death, human, spiritual, or animal. Satan lies today about eternal death just as he did to Eve about spiritual death. He told Eve that she would not die that day; he tells men today that they will not die eternally. Just as Adam, and Eve did not cease to exist when they died spiritually because of their sin, so the soul of man does not cease to exist or lose consciousness when men die physically. "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:19-31). Even so men who die eternally are not unconscious or annihilated but suffer consciously and eternally, in their resurrected bodies in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4); "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23); "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh" (Isa. 66:24).
IV. TEMPTATION
Satan first put a question mark to what God said, "And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3:1). To misquote the Scriptures, especially intentionally, is to wrest or whittle it. That is what the devil did to Eve. That is what Eve did in quoting to the devil what God said. "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:16-17). "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Gen. 3:2-3). In comparing the above two scriptures Eve added "neither shall ye touch it." Doubting God's word led to sin. Contrast God's statement "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17), and Satan's "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). Eve doubted God's word and believed the devil's. Unbelief is the mother of all sin. The devil next led Eve to question God's goodness, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5). This was in addition to disbelieving God's word, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psa. 84:11). The devil meant, "God does not want you to know as much as He does; if you eat, you will know as He knows. Therefore, He was not good in withholding from you. There is not so much in what He gives as in what He withholds." Satan's threefold appeal, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Gen. 3:6); "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I John 2:16); "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matt. 4:1-10). (1). He appealed to the appetite, saying it was good for food. John calls this the lust of the flesh. The dance well illustrates this appeal. Satan tempted Jesus to make bread from stones when Jesus was extremely hungry. (2). He appealed to her sense of beauty. He told her it was beautiful. John calls this the lust of the eye. The movie well illustrates this appeal. Satan tempted Jesus with the passing of the kingdoms of the world. (3). He appealed to her intelligence. He said it would make her wise. John calls this the pride or vainglory of life. Education just to make one wise well illustrates this appeal. Satan tempted Jesus to jump off of the pinnacle of the temple. Disobedience was the result of these. Doubting God's word, questioning God's goodness; listening to Satan's voice, and the threefold appeal to the appetite, the eye, and culture led the woman into sin. Remarks: (1). Little things test us as surely as the big ones or more so. "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (I Sam. 15:22). "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19). (2). The real test is: Can God trust man, and will man trust God? Fellowship and friendship with God are based on trust. Man must believe that what God withholds from him is as good for him as what He gives him. Eve doubted this and was led into sin. Back of all sin is the sin of unbelief. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1), The besetting sin is unbelief. We must believe that God's will as revealed in His word is the very best for us, and then obey it to the letter, or we have neither friendship nor fellowship with God.
V. SIN-AS SEEN IN GENESIS 3
Doubting, wresting, or cutting out any part of God's word is sin. Adding to God's word is sin. "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Gen. 3:3); "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18-19). Questioning God's goodness or love is sin. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). Disobeying any command of God is sin. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). The one underlying principle of all sin is a failure to trust God and believe His word. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Self-will is always sin. " All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6); "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). Any act, a thought, or desire independent of God is sin. "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread" (Matt. 4:3). One of the temptations presented to our Lord was to get bread independently of God. The woman was deceived. Her sin was the sin of ignorance but it brought death. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression" (I Tim. 2:14); "And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty" (Lev. 4:27); "And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity" (Lev. 5:17). Adam's sin was wilful. "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, a |